Handshake reviews

3.1

43% would recommend to a friend

(289 total reviews)

Garrett Lord

44% approve of CEO

37% positive business outlook

Handshake has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 289 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Handshake employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

289 reviews
1.0
May 9, 2025

Toxic company

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

None I can think of. Avoid!

Cons

Dysfunctional culture, declining business performance, and ineffective executive leadership

5.0
Mar 8, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Handshake democratizes opportunity for students. And in doing so levels the playing field between talent and opportunity. We work hard to make this a reality! Culture of trust, collaboration, and recognition. Incredibly fast moving and hard working team. Handshake is a meritocracy. Value, accountability and ownership are rewarded. We provide a tangible value to students, career centers and employers

Cons

Prioritization is a constant challenge as we balance a three sided network Young team - Handshake has rapidly grown and various teams are in need of more experience leadership and guidance to scale and to enjoy work Resource constrained - people wear a lot of hats, which a lot people value, but be prepared to roll up your sleeves, be resourceful and make it happen!

5.0
Feb 15, 2024

Career-defining experience

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I've never been a part of as unique of a company as Handshake - the rate of growth we've seen over the last 5 years is unparalleled and we're doing it in a way that's only not hitting best-in-class saas benchmarks, but also serving a really meaningful purpose to help early career talent from all backgrounds find a meaningful career. I've seen great career growth while, have promoted many of my directs, and most recently am so pleased to see 2 badass VP women be promoted to the C-suite. The people at Handshake are very smart, determined, and eager to make a difference. The work life balance has also improved dramatically from the early days and there's not the expectation that you need to be working all evenings and weekends. Leads trust their teams to get their work done when and how they want to. I'm proud to work here.

Cons

It's a startup. You're going to find challenges at every single one, and Handshake is no different. The biggest challenge I felt was having too many opinions and unclear decision makers on projects. Those who are successful at the company just put a stake in the ground themselves and move to act with the buy in they have.

Viewing 85 - 87 of 289 Reviews

Glassdoor has 459 Handshake reviews submitted anonymously by Handshake employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Handshake is right for you.